Upcoming Event

It is our hope The Love Day Care Center will open officially in October.

We are excited to be offering a safe place for small children who are not old enough to be in school and parents need to go to a job to have a safe place to be cared for. Having a nursery already equipped with cribs and a play room for small children and an outside play area is to our advantage. We will have to hire mamas to care for these children.

We are also offering lunch in our dining room for children who are in our Primary School and cannot go home for lunch because of distance. This is beneficial for the community and for Urukundo Foundation. These are opportunities for Urukundo to be more self sufficient.

We will update you on this opening next month.

Latest Pictures from the School Construction

Two Primary 2 class rooms (second grade) and 1 music room finished ready for desks, chairs and students.

Primary 2 (second grade) class rooms.

Teacher enjoying the view.

Primary grade one class rooms.

Progress on School Project

We are negotiating with a builder for desks and chairs. The desks open.

Each set costs 21,000 rwf. Don't panic. That is about $32 USD for a desk and a chair. 50 students will move to second grade.

Pictured below is what you will be giving to the first class and future classes with your gift.

Cement under overhang completed. 

The first coat of rust-proof paint on windows, doors and gutter is finished. Blue paint to follow.

The window glass goes in next.

Funding is needed. Appriciate your help.

This is the site of our next building project, we hope.

It will be a two story building saving land and will house grades 3 & 4. This land is for sale. We need it, and we need partners.

A donation to Hope Made Real reduces your income tax as we are a 501(c)3 organization.

Think about it. What better way to spend your hard earned money?

Sports News

The second half of the basketball court is completed and we once again have a court to play basketball and volley ball. We are grateful to the Carnagie Mellon team for starting this project.

Preparing the final stages of construction. Benjimin and his crew do a good job. Covering stones on basketball court preparing for cement.

First cement in place and beginning to dry.

Finished - a beautiful sight. Thanks for everyone who helped make this possible. Your gifts really do make a difference.

Progress on Construction Phase 3 of School Project

Work continues.  Our goal is to have the classrooms ready for school year 2014. 

Yet to be completed - windows, doors, roof, all inside work and desks, chairs, shelves, teachers' desks & chairs.

We have a long way to go.

Retaining wall to prevent mud slides.

State College Team

The team from State College were busy the weeks they were at Urukundo. Projects included working in the preschool and primary school classrooms, continuing sister school partnerships and teacher trainings. Pen pal letters were shared with teens, art was taught to women in the English classes, kitchen gardens received a much needed facelift, soap and hygiene products were purchased and delivered to 400 university students and orders were made for sewing projects to be sold in the US.

Carol Falke, Carol Baney, Linda Schimmel

Progress

The first step toward a SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY has been taken with a sewing enterprise.

Urukundo took an existing building and removed walls.

We made sure there was a need, then purchased 5 regular machines and 2 special machines.

This is not only a sewing class with a qualified teacher it is also an enterprise where local woman can participate and support their families.Designated funds were used to start the URUKUNDO SEWING CENTER.

Project: Basketball Court Renewal

This team of 16 students, a team leader and advisor visited Urukundo In March. Their goal was to refinish the basketball court. It was in need of redoing. The basketball court is used hard by the Urukundo Learning Center, the Community and our Urukundo Kids for exercise, basketball,  volleyball and other play activities. It is an asset to our Village.

Our guys started the demolition in preparation for the team's visit.

Although the project was not completed the team worked very hard. Time was not enough to complete everything. Added financing is needed for cement to finish the work.

While they were here they visited Akagere National game Park, The Genocide Memorial and The Campus of Carnagie Mellon - Rwanda. It was our pleasure to have these wonderful young people even though the time was short.

The team worked hard and did a very good job.

About 2/3 of the playing field is finished. We need to get it finished ASAP. It is not useable as it stands now.

We thank CMU for the wonderful gift of work on the field and the time they spent with our children.

Hearts for Rwanda

A vote of thanks to a special young girl with a HEART FOR RWANDA.

HALEY JUSTICE from State College, Pa, USA

HEARTS FOR RWANDA IS AWESOME.

Haley needs to come visit Urukundo and meet the kids. Our kids are our strength for the future. Young people like Haley will make a difference. Thank you Haley from Mama and all the Urukundo Kids.